Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1887-03-11
EARLY IOWA PEOPLE.
-. or IN. nahasts Rsmilr- PoIJsans =
ann" Feature.

lay oon,uping with the departed
81 its Of the Indian dead who once
pamed over his hunting ground. He
~ that one time. back In the'30's.
s' ~a was the hunting ground, with
',hers. OF the Sac, Fox and Iowa tribes
.r.a;ans. The latter, at one time,
:. q very powerful tribe; brave and
sl,,te in many undertakings OF
store against the Sioux and
p'.oes. They early made a good
s~ntation, and are mentioned with
s;se by Lewis and Clarke. the
rlv explorers. That they were OF a
;matory character more than COM
=, to the aborigines OF that day is
rawn bv the fact that about sixteen
amovals we're made by them. They
e., came down the Mississippi river
nos Moines, and there many viii ages
fonnd IN what now constitute
sea ,c OF Van Buren,, Davis and
WsneIlo. Thence they went to Dakota
han back to Nebraska, and had their
snaI camp in Iowa in the Grand river
l~nnntry-in Wayne, Clarke and Lucas
ounties. The Iowas were divided in
;aht leading clans each bearing the
sda4 of some animal or bird, and
o"cb clan had it's own peculiar manner
Il cutting the hair. Thus: the eagle clan
"ora two locks of hair on the front
"art Of the head and long tail be-
P;nd A caucus of the clans must
have shown many OF the fashions
that have been seen on the heads OF
White women since that day. Some
n the Jealous Indians called them
aDnstv Noses" because they camped
an sandbars and often scrubbed their
bodips clearly with sand. Altar early
dav the Iowas were once invited to o
doo feast by wandering band of the
c;oux. Man-haw-gaw was the leading
Iowa chief and between the dog feast
and the pow WOW the Sioux killed
him. Ever after it was bloody time
when an Iowa could get at the Sioux.
The Osaoes Joined with the Sioux and
thew had to take their wolloping
whenever it was handy. These abor-
ioinal cocks-of-t walk were the tribe
Which gave birth, home and room to
foht to the great family of Mahaskal
Man-haw-gaw was the paternal an
cestor of Mahaska the elder. The
name properly spelled is Ma has kah
and means White Cloud.
That Ma has-ka was a brave man
is shown from the fact that he had
seven wivesl He never applied for a
divorce from any OF them, but it was
the gossip about camp that occasion
ally one would go down to the Des
Mones river to battle, and would be
found quite dead the next morning
This necessitated the chief to bring in
another one to hold his number up to
the golden seven. That he lived with
seven wives shows him to have been a
master hand at management. No
man to-day could do that. One is
about all that the wisest and best of
our statesmen can manage. as we all
know from observation. His bravery
was not confined alone to living with
seven wives. He was always at the
head OF the Iowa war parties, and at
bis belt dangled very many scalps of
the Sioux and Osages. In 1924 he went
to Washington and visited President
Monroe, and upon his return he took
himself to the ways of peace, bnilt. a
double log cabin, and lived in COM
tort. In 1888 some OF his men were
connected with killing scrape, ard
General Clarke ordered that they be
arrested. Ma-has-kah having adopted
peaceful ways, said that it should be
done, and assisted in the arrest of the
men and sent them to Fl Leaven-
worth. There one Of them threaten
ed to kill him when he got out This
Indian made his escape, and during
the fall OF 1884 he found Ma has-kah
camped on the Nodaway, in the south
ern corner of Cass county, and there
murdered him in very cowardly
manner. At about fifty years OF age
this great chief. the winner of eighteen
battles, ended his career. His death
caused a great mourning in his
n village. His seven wives went into
mourning and poverty, and one oi
them-who bore the name of Female
deer that bounds over the prairies-
refused ever afterward to be comfort
ed The assassin of Ma-has-kah took
refuge with The Otocs, but as they did
not want to mix in the coming war,
they killed him and sent his scalp to
the lowas. An accomplice was also
executed by the Iowas- In speaking oil
Ma'has-kah's death, the braves said;
n The greatest man who ever made a
moccasln track in the Nodaway valley
has gone to the happy hunting
Il grounds Ponies and dogs without
number were slain in memento Mort.
Ma-has-kah was full six feet two inches
IN height, OF great physical strength.and
much manly beauty. On his death
Ms son was promoted to the com
mand OF the lowas. Whether it was
by civil service examination or PERM
clous actlvlty,or because he was ''ont
Oh The boys" the records do not say
Al all events he "got there and
stald there. He was considered much
OIL dude in his day. In 1867 he
\ went to Washington, asking for re
areSs OF some oil the many grievances
,nllicted upon his people by the whites
nut beyond having pog-wow with
1ne authorities nothing was done
Inc Old habit of robbing and wrong
Jug the Indian was then in vogut
coming down from the cheating dickel
9haer the ems at Philadelphia to that
Nay' and with some changes on to tn.
present time. The younger Ma-has
kan got into the white mans ways
ara good deal of white mans wills
~ got into him, with the usual result
Ae1he age of SO, we have hiR witt